Emerald Heart Bar.
Celine approached Elan's table with lightning speed, startling Elan, who was in the middle of reading a book.
"What are you doing?"
Celine quickly sat down in a seat. Seeing that he hadn't received an answer, Elan began to speculate:
"Is it about establishing the Apothecary Association? Didn't I tell you last time that I can't find anyone on my end..."
"It's not that, Elan. This matter concerns only you."
"Only concerns me?!"
Elan closed the book and set it on the seat beside him.
Celine took a cup of fruit wine before finally speaking.
"Richter has gone missing!"
Elan somewhat understood why she was so hurried just now, but what he didn't understand was why it concerned him.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Celine glanced at him.
"It seems it wasn't you who killed him..."
"What do you mean 'it wasn't me who killed him'? Isn't he missing? How did he end up killed?"
Elan protested.
Celine continued to explain.
"It's basically been confirmed that Richter is dead. He never took the things he left at the Modification School, and there were no traces at his residence; many precious items are still inside."
"Even if no body was found, we've all confirmed it. For someone like Richter, who has enemies everywhere, being missing is basically the same as being dead."
"Plus, we had someone from the Astrology School perform a divination, and there's a high probability he's dead."
Elan raised an eyebrow.
"Oh! Didn't you have the Astrology School divine who killed Richter? Why are you still trying to frame me?"
"Could it be that you're afraid the prophecy would reveal some big shot, so you specifically didn't have them do it?"
Celine took a sip of fruit wine and said slowly:
"You don't need to be so sarcastic. Everyone knows that for divining Richter's death, there are plenty of connected items—his friends, mentors, and belongings can all serve as mediums."
"But as for divining the killer, we haven't even found Richter's body. Even with a body, a successful divination isn't guaranteed, let alone without one."
Elan sat opposite her with an indifferent expression.
"So? What does it actually have to do with me?"
Celine finished her fruit wine and asked him in return.
"Let me ask you, was Richter from Cuilan Academy?"
"Yes."
"And are you the Academy Head of Cuilan Academy?"
"Uh..." Elan thought for a moment before continuing, "If by'substantial control' of Cuilan Academy you mean those Formal Mages, then they are the Academy Heads, and I'm just the person who helps them schedule class times."
"But if you're asking who the nominal Academy Head of Cuilan Academy is, then it's definitely me."
Celine poured herself another cup of fruit wine and said in a gentle tone:
"Elan, I know you're dissatisfied with the academy being controlled by others, but you really shouldn't express it like that."
"How could I? I think the Apprentice Market is much more important than a tiny place like Cuilan Academy..."
Celine interrupted him.
"Enough. Regardless of what you say, the Modification School is very invested in this investigation."
"They found that one of Richter's notebooks is missing. It might contain knowledge unique to the Modification School, so they will definitely come looking for you."
Elan seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and stopped joking.
"Did they confirm when Richter went missing?"
"It was the night the assessment ended. Someone witnessed Richter entering his house, and after that, no one knows if he ever came out. Anyway, he went missing after that."
Upon hearing this, Elan relaxed again and joked:
"If I were the killer, I'd be laughing my head off. It's been nearly two weeks now. Even if I'd buried Richter in the dirt, there probably wouldn't be anything left of him by now."
Seeing his indifferent expression, Celine could only say helplessly:
"Suit yourself. It seems you're not worried about the Modification School's investigation, but they're going crazy over that potentially existing notebook."
"Let them look. If I had found that notebook, I would've buried it ten meters underground and let them search for it."
After finishing a bottle of fruit wine, Celine continued:
"By the way, there's another very important matter. Do you know about that 'Weapon Forging' course?"
Elan was also interested and said:
"Who came up with that name? It's so short and broad; apprentices won't have a clue what the course is about. If he were in my academy, I'd definitely make him change the name before letting it pass."
"Then you might be disappointed. Even if he were in your academy, he probably wouldn't change it."
"Oh? Who is it?"
Celine looked at her empty cup, took another bottle of fruit wine, and continued:
"Hobbes Roins."
"Who's that?"
"Wait until I finish."
After pouring another cup of fruit wine, Celine continued:
"He's a Fourth-Tier Mage. Do you understand now?"
Elan's pupils constricted slightly as he spoke:
"Fourth-Tier... what is he doing here in our Apprentice City?"
After entering the formal ranks, one can be referred to as First-Tier, and Fifth-Tier represents the Alliance's peak combat power.
"He founded a School... For some unknown reason, he decided to come here to see if there were any outstanding apprentices, so he opened a course."
Elan still couldn't quite believe it. One had to know that many large cities in the Alliance were only guarded by Third-Tier mages, yet now a Fourth-Tier Mage had come to Apprentice City.
"Really? What's the name of his School?"
Furnace Casting School.
"Well, it certainly echoes the name of the course."
Immediately after, Elan realized:
"So you're afraid this great personage killed Richter while passing through, and it would be awkward if the Astrology School divined that..."
Celine's face darkened as she interrupted him.
"Can we stop talking about that? Don't you realize this is an opportunity?"
Elan asked curiously:
"What opportunity? A Fourth-Tier Mage teaching here on a whim—what does that have to do with us First and Second-Tier folk?"
"An opportunity to take control of Apprentice City. You currently have the title of Academy Head of Cuilan Academy; why not ask him to help you solidify that title?"
Elan was too shocked to speak. After a long while, he finally said:
"You... first tell me why he would help me? I don't even know him."
"No, you can join the Furnace Casting School. From what I know, his School has no one publicly known other than himself. If you request to join, combined with your title as Academy Head, I believe he would be very happy to have an exclusive academy under his command."
"What about the Edict School's side?"
"I've already asked for you. The Third Seat has agreed to my plan. Whether you do this or not depends on you."
Celine smiled and continued:
"If you succeed, it will be the starting point for our Edict School's return to Apprentice City."
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